Line-wire reel.



J. & G. M. WELTY & C. BRINSER.

LINE WIRE EBEL.

APPLIUATION FILED 1111111.31, 1910.

lPatented Feb. 20, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. & G. M. WELTY & C. BRINSER.

LINE WIRE REEL.

APPLICATION FILED 111111.31, 1910. 1,017,936, Patented Feb. 2.0, 1912.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

cOLUMBlA PLANOGRAPM co.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES lPATENT OFFICE.

JOHN WELTY, GEORG-E M. WELTY, AND CLINTON BRINSER, OF SEATTLE,WASHINGTON.

LINE-WIRE REEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 20,1912.

Application led March 31, 1910. Serial N o. 552,636.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN WELTY, GEORGE M. vWELTY, and CLINTON BRrNsER,citizens of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county ofKing, State of- This invention relates to reels such as are used for thepurpose of erecting and taking down telephone, telegraph .and otherwires of like character.

an improved general construction of reel; adapted to be secured to awagon in suchI manner that the reel will be out of the way=v of thecontents of the wagon, said reel being adapted either for winding wireor forl paying out wire as it is being erected.

wire, which reel may be either mounted oni a wagon body or on a stand. a

A third object of the invention is to 1mof this character are adjusted.

construction of reel provided with an improved arm adjusting mechanism.

The invention further consists in certain novel details of constructionand combinations of parts hereinafter fully described,

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and specifically set forth inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings, like characters of reference indicate likeparts in the several views, and Figure 1 is a perspective view of a reelconstructed in accordance with this invention and applied to a wagon.Fig. 2 is a plan view of the wire holding portion of the device, theview being partly in section in order to show the manner in which theadjusting mechanism is arranged. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional viewthrough the wire holding portion of the reel. Fig. 4 is a sectional.view showing certain locking mechanism used in connection with the reel.

In the ,present showing of this reel the same has been illustrated asapplied to the rear end of a wagon body and it will be noted that thereel is so constructed that it is supported above one of the wagon sidesso that it is entirely out of the way of the contents of said wagonbody.

The numeral 10 indicates a portion of the body of such a wagon as isordinarily employed by telegraph and telephone linemen and secured toone of the sides of this body adjacent its rear end is an invertedL-shaped bracket 11, the stem of the L being held to the side by meansof bolts 12 while the foot of the L extends over the edge of the side asat 13. At the end of the foot 13 there is One object of the invention isto provideprovided a suitable bearing for purposes tical shaft 15 uponthe upper end of which is a collar 16 for the purpose of preventing A4second object of the invention is to-I provide an improved constructionof reel which is equipped with a novel device forl` adjusting the reelto diEerent sized coils ofv gear 17. Secured to the outside of the sidei of the wagon body is a bracket 18 provided' with an extension 19. Thisbracket 18 has a bearing formed therein as at 2O and through thisbearing extends a shaft 21A which is horizontally Vdisposed and which gprojects behind the wagon, being supported With the above and otherobjects in view,v the invention consists in general of a novell adjacentits rear end by a bracket 22 provided with a bearing through which saidshaft passes.' On each side of the bracket 22 the shaft 21 is providedwith collars 23 which prevent sliding movement of the shaft in alongitudinal direction. At the rear end of the shaft 21 there isprovideda polygonal portion 24e adapted to receive a handled crank 25 wherebythe shaft may be rotated.

Upon the forward end of the shaft 21 is splined a bevel gear 26 which isso arranged as to be adapted to mesh with the gear 17. This bevel gear26 is provided with a grooved boss 27 which receives the fork arms 28 ofa bell crank shipper lever 29. ThisI formed therethrough adapted toregister with the recess 32 and provided with an abruptly pitchedthread. In this opening of the boss is held a screw 34 threaded to fitsaid boss and on the outer end of this screw is fitted a handle 35.

By means of the structure just described the gear 26 may be moved intoor out of mesh with the gear 17. When the gear 26 is in mesh with thegear 17 the handle 35 is so rotated as to force the end of the screwinto the recess 32 and the two gears are thus held locked in mesh. If itis desired to release the gear 26 from the gear 17 the handle 35 isrotated in the proper direction to withdraw the end of the screw 34 fromthe recess 32. The handle 31 is then depressed and this causes the gear26 to be moved rear wardly along the shaft 21 and to be disengaged fromthe gear 17.

Considering now the specific structure of the reel itself. Above thecollar 16 is a hub 36 which is fixedly secured upon the shaft 15. At thelower end this hub is provided with a flange 37 andat the upper end witha flange 38. Secured to the flange 38 is a series of radial bars 39 tothe outer ends of which is secured a ring 40, thus forming a structureof wheel-like character. Secured to the flange 37 are other radial bars41 and, while the bars 39 all lie in the same plane, the bars 41 allincline upwardly so as to constitute braces and these bars 41 have theirouter ends attached to the outer ends of the bars 39. On each of thebars 39 is a sliding member 42 and these members are of boxshape and theupper side of each lies in spaced relation to its bar 39 so that theouter ends of rack bars 43 may lie in the space thus formed and bepivotally connected to the sliding members by pins 44. On the shaft 15above the hub 36 is a freely rotatable sleeve 45 on the lower end ofwhich is formed a gear 46 while on the upper end of the sleeve 45 is ahand wheel 47. The inner ends of the rack bars 43 are displacedvertically with respect to each other so that these rack bars lie one ontop of the other with theirteeth engaging with the gear 46. In order tohold these rack bars in engagement with the gear 46 the flange 3S hasprojecting therefrom a series of pins 48 one of which is provided with ahead 49 locking over its rack bar 43. The stems of all of these pins areso positioned that they rest against the backs of the rack bars 43 andform guides for said rack bars. From an inspection of F ig. 2 it will beseen that the inner ends of these rack bars are superposed, the one onthe other, and that the head 49 locks over the uppermost of the rackbars so that all of these bars are held to slide on Aeach other and areprevented by the act-ion of the head 49 and the rack bar with which itengages from rising up from the flange 3S.

Now, it will be plain that as the hand wheel 47 is rotated the slidingmembers 44 will be caused to move in and out along their respective bars39 so that the positions of these members may be adjusted with referenceto the axis of the reel. In order to hold these members in adjustedposition the upper end of the shaft 15 is threaded as at 50 and on thisthreaded end is held a lock-v ing sleeve or nut 51 provided `with a handgrip 52. By this means, after the positions of the sliding members havebeen adjusted by rotating the hand wheel 47, the sliding positions byscrewing down upon the nut 51. Each of the sliding members 42 hasprojecting up therefrom an inwardly curved arm 53 adapted to lie insideof the coil of wire or to have wire coiled up thereon.

In the operation of the device, during the process of' paying out wirethe gears 26 and 17 are disconnected as previously described. The coilof wire is then laid on the arms 39 and the lock nut 51 loosened. rIhearms 53 are then adjusted to fit the inside of said coil wire byrotating the hand wheel 47 in the proper direction. These arms havingbeen adjusted the nut 51 is employed to lock them in such adjustedposition. The wagon may then be driven along and the wire allowed to runoff the coil as required. If it be desired to takeI down a wire and windit up the arms 53 are adjusted to the size of coil which it is desiredto form. The gears 26 and 17 are brought into mesh and the end of thewire brought to the reel. The wagon is then driven along and as fast asthe wire is cut loose from the poles the crank 25 is rotated with theresult that the wire is coiled up on the reel in a coil of the desiredsize. I/Vhen sufficient wire has been coiled up the 'members may belocked in such adjusted arms 53 are moved inward by releasing t-he locknut and manipulating the hand wheel 47 and this coil removed. Theoperation may then be repeated as many times as is necessary to takedown the required length of wire. There has thus been provided a simpleand eflicient device of the kinddescribed and for the purpose specified.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of this invention without departing from the materialprinciples thereof. It is not therefore desired to confine the inventionto the exact form herein shown and described, but it is wished toinclude all such as properly come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In a reel, a vertical shaft, spaced brackets provided with bearingssupporting said shafts, a hub fixed on said shaft above the upper bar, aflange at. the upper end of said hub, a second flange at the lower endof said hub, radial arms secured at their inner ends to the upper angeand lying in the same plane, a ring connecting t-he outer ends of saidradial arms, other arms connecting the outer ends of the firstmentioned'arms with the flange at the lower end of the hub, andstrand-receiving members adjustably mounted on the first mentioned arms.

2. In a reel, a vertical shaft, spaced brackets provided with bearingssupporting said shafts, a hub iiXed on said shaft above the upper bar, afiange at the upper end of said hub, a second flange at the lower end ofsaid hub, radial arms secured at their inner ends to the upper flangeand lying in the same plane, a ring connecting the outer ends of saidradial arms, other arms connecting the outer ends of the first mentionedarms with the flange at the lower' end of the hub, strand receivingmembers adjustably mounted on the irst mentioned arms, and means forlocking said reel carrying arms in adjusted position.

3. In a reel, a vertical shaft, spaced brackets provided with bearingssupporting said shafts, a hub fixed on said shaft above the upper bar, aflange at the upper end of said hub, a second flange at the lower end ofsaid hub, radial arms secured at their inner ends to the upper flangeand lying in the same plane, a ring connecting the outer ends of saidradial arms, other arms connecting the outer ends of the iirst mentionedarms with the flange at the lower end of the hub, a sliding member oneach of the first mentioned arms, a sleeve on said shaft above said huband freely revoluble on the shaft, a gear formed on the lower part ofthe sleeve, a rack bar connected to each of the sliding members andmeshing with said gear, strand-receiving members on said slidingmembers, and means connected to the sleeve for adjusting the position ofthe reel carrying... arms.

In testimony whereof we affix our signa- E. H. VADEN, ROY MoINNIs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

